How to say thank you
by Dawn123
Summary: In which Castiel remembers the first time he was kissed. Destiel. Set around 5x21.


**Title:** How to say thank you

**Rating**:PG

**Pairing:** Dean/Cas, pre-slash

**Spoilers**: this is set in the around 5.21

**Summary:** In which Castiel remembers the first time he was kissed.

**Hi guys! I'm new to this Destiel fandom, so sorry for any mistakes! Hope you like it!**

It was a photo, taken a long time ago, judging by its fraying edges and faded colours. In it, was a grinning boy with blonde hair and a little baby cradled securely in the boy's arms. Castiel stared at the photo, feeling his heart clench with recognition.

"Cas? You in here?" Dean strode into Bobby's library. "What're you looking at?"

"I found this amidst Bobby's books," Castiel's brows furrowed as he showed Dean the picture. "Do you know these children?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "It's me and Sam, Cas. When we were kids."

Castiel's eyes widened, "These boys are you and Sam?"

"_Yes_. Don't even think about laughing, got it?"

Castiel huffed a short breath, "I _think_ that this is what you call irony."

_It is Thursday. _

_Castiel slips away to Earth, despite Zachariah's explicit orders to stay in Heaven. He has just fought a hard battle, just lost more of his brothers, and feels the urge to see something different. Feels the urge to be closer to his Father by observing his Father's greatest creations. _

_He is barely on Earth's ground when he hears a child's prayer._

"_Angel, I need your help. You have to come now. Right now…please?" _

_Castiel pinpoints the child's location and is there within seconds. _

_Castiel takes a moment to gather his surroundings. He is in a child's nursery, where cartoonish wallpaper covered the walls, toys were scattered around and a cot stood proudly in the middle of the room. _

_There are two souls in the room, Castiel senses and he stiffens in response. He turns his head to the room's corner, from where the souls' warmth emanates. He is greeted with the sight of a little boy crouched over a bundle of blankets. The boy's face is obscured by his blonde hair, but his soul shone brightly within him. Curious, Castiel steps forward._

_Sensing the motion, the boy's head jerks up and Castiel finds himself blinking into a pair of narrowed emerald eyes. _

"_You're late!"_

_Castiel is not surprised that the child can see him in his true form. Most young children could at least sense angels. It is no shock that this little boy, whose soul seems to be free of any stain, can perceive him as he is. _

"_I was busy," Castiel offers an explanation. _

"_Come and see Sammy. Please," The boy shifts, so the bundle in his arms is more visible. It's then that Castiel spots the baby swathed in the blankets. The baby is sleeping soundly, his face resting against the boy's chest. Castiel sees that the baby's soul is calmed by the boy's presence. Brothers._

_The boy states, "Sammy's cute." He glowers at Castiel, who feels that he should respond._

"_Your brother is aesthetically pleasing to the human eye."_

_The boy frowns. "Sammy's cute," he insists._

"_Sammy's cute," Castiel repeats. _

"_But he's breathing very funny," the boy sighs. "Mummy says it's just a cough and Sammy will get better, but Sammy can't breathe properly now. I think Sammy is in pain."_

_Castiel listens. It is true that there is a wheezing in the baby's gentle snores and that the baby is breathing slightly too rapidly. He kneels to be closer to the children, placing a finger on the baby's forehead and searching for a problem._

"_It is merely a slight cold," Castiel tells the attentive boy. "You do not need to worry. Your brother will be well soon."_

_The boy sniffs. "I want Sammy to get better now." He gazes up at Castiel, "Make him better now." He adds as an afterthought, "Please?"_

_Castiel knows that he should not interfere in such small matters, but he notices the wobble in the boy's chin and the plea in the boy's eyes. He feels touched by the love this little boy has for his brother, and marvels at the beauty of his father's creations. Castiel sends a small surge of healing grace through his fingers and into the little baby. Almost instantly, the baby's breathing slows into a healthy rhythm and the raspiness disappears. _

_The boy's face is instantly engulfed by a large grin. "He's okay! You healed him." He leans down to kiss the baby's forehead._

_Castiel prepares to leave. He stretches his wings and – _

"_You can kiss Sammy."_

_Castiel frowns and the boy must have understood his confusion, because the boy carries on, "All the grown ups that come to see Sammy always gives him icky kisses. Everybody wants to kiss Sammy."_

"_I do not want to kiss Sammy," Castiel says._

"_Why?" the boy is back to glaring._

_Castiel hesitates, "Because I do not know how to."_

_The boy sighs again. Then, he leans forward and pecks Castiel on the lips, "Umwah."_

_Castiel rears back and stands up quickly. He lowers his hands when he is sure that the boy is not about to attack him again. "What was that?"_

_The boy rolls his eyes, "That is how you kiss, dummy."_

_Castiel recalls the feeling of the boy's pursed lips against his own and frowns, "But why did you kiss me?"_

_The boy cradles his brother closer to his chest and stares at Castiel solemnly, "To say thank you. Sammy can't kiss people now, but mummy says he can kiss back when he is a bit older. Then, he can kiss you too. To say thank you for making him better, see?"_

_Castiel feels a warmth rising within him and realises that the corners of his lips are twitching upwards. He opens his mouth, wishing to continue this interesting conversation with this young soul, when he feels a yank on his grace. It is his brother, trying to pulling him back to heaven._

_Castiel leaves instantly and lands before Zachariah. His superior is angry, alternating his faces in quick successions. Before Castiel can utter a word, Zachariah is bearing down on him._

"_What did you say to that little brat?" Zachariah growls. _

"_That's for my knowledge, and the boy is not a brat." Castiel is surprised by the insolence of his own words. The little boy seemed to have rubbed off onto him. _

_Zachariah snarls and Castiel feels his nose break under the impact of the punch. Castiel drops to the ground on his knees and winces as Zachariah pulls his hair to yank his head up._

"_You do not leave to Earth again without my permission. And you do not ever see those two humans again. Understood."_

"_Yes," Castiel obeys. He takes the remainder of the punishment without a complaint. Strangely, it doesn't seem to hurt as much as the thought of never seeing that green eyed boy with the pure white soul again._

"Cas? Oi, Cas!"

"Dean," Castiel acknowledged, returning his mind to the present time swiftly. He blinked upon finding Dean's green eyes scanning him worriedly.

"It is you and Sam in this picture," Castiel repeated what Dean had said. He felt his vessel's lip subconsciously twitch upwards and felt a familiar warmth rising within him.

Dean scowled. "Yeah, so?" He snatched the picture out of Castiel's hand and tossed it onto Bobby's table. "Now, come on. Crowley says we've got a fix on Death's location, so we can – are you listening? Will you quit staring at me?"

Castiel didn't answer, but reached out a hand and placed it on Dean's chest, "Your soul is no longer white. It is reddened with Hell, blackened with despair, browned with sorrow…"

"Cas, is this going anywhere but up the rainbow?"

"…and yet, Dean," Castiel pressed on, "your soul shines brighter than ever. You are truly remarkable. One of the many marvels of my father's creations."

Silence reigned for a while, in which Dean merely stared at Castiel, apparently speechless. When he spoke again, it was with a considerably gruffer voice.

"Erm, thanks Cas, really," Dean lowered his gaze to the floor and scratched the back of his neck self consciously. "And thanks for helping us, now, to you know clear this apocalypse mess up." Dean looked up into Castiel's searching eyes. "Thank you."

Castiel waited for the feel of Dean's lips against his, but the expected kiss never comes. Instead, Dean walked out of the room, stopping just by the door, "Come on, Cas. It's getting late!"

Castiel frowned but his disappointment vanished when Dean shot him a grin. One of those grins that made Castiel feel included, that told him that he was part of the Winchester team, part of what is important to Dean.

Castiel nodded and strode towards Dean, but not before slipping the photo of the two little brothers into his pocket first.

**Reviews are love!**


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